Welded car end frame



y 8- J. E. TESSEYMAN ET AL 2, 9,367

WELDED CAR END FRAME Filed Feb. 26, 1937 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 and lo 6. M1161? May 31, 1938. J. E. TESSEYMAN ET AL WELDED'CAR END FRAME 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1957 gm'nwto'cd Jo/zn E Tiss-qylfzm alzdlaazls' T Willa/f y 3 1938. J. E. TESSEYMAN ET AL 2,119,367

WELDED CAR END FRAME Filed Feb. 26, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet s y 1938- J. E. TESSEYMAN 'ET AL 2,119,367

' WELDED CAR END ERAME Filed Feb. 26, 19:57 '5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Vvfvmm m n Mum m Q H 6 W k 8 MM $3 M n v h /n0 8y L Q. 4 WW 4, E u 0 M M 5 0 J l m o w w m MJv w w m mw m mm m mfiw a W W W m w m w w m m wmfi 0 M J. .LW fi m w www a. MO. Q1 I 1 j w 6 1; w. w xmmmmwwfimw m W mum Mm WM y 1, 1938. J. E. TE SSEYMA ET AL 2,119,367

WELDED CAR END FRAME 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 26, 1937 awe/"tow {Io/311E fissqym 015i? am Patented May 31, 1938 4 NTE S'E'TES ATENT OFFIE WELDED GAR END FRAM'E Application February 26, 1937, Serial No. 127,952

22 Claims.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in a car end structure for house cars in which one of the end walls is composed of doors to facilitate the loading or unloading of automobiles, trucks and the like, but are also used in general service so must be capable of carrying various types of lading as well as those mentioned above. Such an arrangement materially weakens the car framing to resist the service stresses. It is difiicult to design an end frame for such a car and the doors themselves, as Well as the attachments therefor, so as to resist the weaving stresses of the car in service and also the shifting cargo and at the same time obtain a door or doors which are easy to operate, and provide a fastening locking means for the doors and having the necessary rigidity and weathering features around the doors for excluding the elements. i-Ieretofore the end frames for house cars of this type have been formed of a single or a plurality of castings riveted or bolted together. This east end construction is heavy and expensive to make. End frames for this type of car have also been constructed of rolled and pressed metal members which were bolted or riveted together.

The vibration of the car in. motion 'due to rough and uneven tracks and metal wheels rolling on steel rails set up constant vibrations and motions in the car which cause bolted and even riveted joints in the built-up sections to work loose. This condition is increased by the introduction of longer freight trains and higher speeds in present day railroading.

An object of the present invention is to provide an end frame construction which is simple, and may be manufactured at relatively low cost, and which provides relatively great strength.

A further object is to provide an end construction for a house car in which the number of parts is reduced to a minimum and in which those portions which are subjected to the most severe stresses are very well adapted to withstand said stresses.

A further object is to provide a house car end construction which provides particularly sturdy means for supporting swinging end doors and which is adapted to cooperate with said doors in a novel manner to provide weathering features.

A further object of our invention is to form the component parts of the frame Surrounding the end door opening of a plurality of pressed sheet metal members welded together thereby forming a substantially integral structure and eliminating the use of rivets and bolts and looseness of motion between the component parts which not only weakens the structure to resist the service stresses, but also permits leaks be tween the doors and the adjacent frame. These leaks may permit the lading to escape and also allow rain, sparks and the like to enter the interior of the car.

Another object of our invention relates to the manner of connecting the tops and bottom ends of the corner posts to the end plate and end sills.

Another object of our invention relates to the end sill construction and the manner of connecting the inner ends of the said end sills to the striking casting.

Another object of our invention relates to the construction of the end plate.

A further object of our invention relates to the manner of attaching the hinge butts to the corner posts by placing them inside the posts with the knuckles extending through an opening in the posts and having extended portions which prevent the hinge butts passing through the openings in the post and Welded to the post on the inside and outside.

With these and other objects in view which become more apparent in the following descrip tion and disclosure, this invention comprises the novel construction and combination hereafter described and more particularly pointed out and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus given a general description of the objects of our invention we will now in order to make the same more clear, refer to the annexed five sheets'of drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference denote like parts.

Figure 1 is an elevation of our improved end structure, showing the striking casting in dotted lines. v i 5 Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the end structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation drawn on an enlarged scale showing a portion of the end plate and the top end of the corner posts and illustrating the manner of splicing the ends of the two members together.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation drawn on an enlarged scale showing a portion of the end sill and the bottom end of one of the corner posts illustrating the manner of connecting the end of the two members together at this point.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the end structure showing a portion of the car roof and side sheets attached thereto.

Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the end plate taken on the line 'l'! of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through the end sill taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section through the end plate taken on the line 99 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is a transverse section taken on the line of the welded joint and splice plates at the top end of one of the corner posts and the bottom end of one of the ends of the end plate.

Fig. 11 is a transverse section through one of the corner posts taken through one of the hinge butts on the line ll--H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged transverse section through the end sill taken on the line I2-l2 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 13 is an end elevation of a railway car equipped with our improved end frame showing the doors attached thereto.

Fig. 14 is a section taken on the line |4-l4 of Fig. 13 but drawn on an enlarged scale, with parts broken away.

Fig. 15 is an enlarged sectional View taken centrally through the top of one of the doors and the end plate and showing the locking bar engaging the keeper taken on the line l5-55 of Fig.

13, and Fig. 16 is an enlarged section view taken centrally through one of the doors and striking casting taken on the line l$l5 of Fig. 13.

Referring now to the various characters of reference on the drawings; the car body is provided with a center sill I, having a striking casting 2 attached to its opposite ends, side sills 3,

. side plates G, side sheets 5 and roof sheets 6 to which the car end frame is attached.

The end frame for the car comprises the end plate I, corner posts 8 and end sill 9, which are all formed of pressed plate metal welded together to form a substantially integral structure. The end plate 1 is arch shaped in elevation and formed in such a manner as to produce a very strong member having downwardly extending curved corners and end portions and is of substantially channel shape in cross section throughout its length which is of greater width at the central and curved corner portions and of less width at the ends and the intermediate portions between the central and curved corners. This channel portion is disposed with its web It vertical and its outer and inner legs II and i2 extending inwardly. The outer leg II has rivet holes l3 formed therein for receiving the rivets for attaching the end of the roof sheet '6 thereto and is offset at an intermediate point as at It, said offset portion having greater depth at the narrow portion of the channel. The inner flange 12 has an inwardly inclined portion l5 at the juncture between the web and the flange and its inner edge is bent laterally as at l6 and reinforced by means of a vertically extending stiffening plate I! which is welded thereto as at l8. The stiffening plate I! is perforated as at I9 and the lower ends of brackets 20 are attached thereto, the upper ends of which are welded to the outer leg H and are adapted to form means for attaching hooks thereto for loading or unloading purposes. The bottom edges of the downwardly extending end portions of the end plate are welded as at ill to the top ends of the corner posts 8 and the joints are each further reinforced by means of a trough shaped splice bar 22 and a flat plate 23. A drainage trough 24 and a keeper '25 formed of pressed metal for receiving the top end of the locking'ba'r for the doors are also welded to the outer face of the end plate.

The corner posts 8 are of box type each composed of a pressed metal plate having a central face portion 26 with an outer side flange 2'! having an offset extending portion 26 which is adapted to receive and be riveted to the side sheet 5, and an inner flange 29 of shorter length than the outer flange 27 having an inclined portion 38 and a grooved end portion 3|. A flat plate 32 is welded to the inner edge of the flange 29 and the intermediate portion of the flange El. The corner posts 8 are formed with a plurality of openings at intermediate points as at 33 for receiving hinge butts 34 which are placed inside the posts with the knuckles 35 extending through the openings formed in the posts and are each provided with extended portions 36 inside the post which prevent the hinge butts from passing through the openings in the post and welded to the post on the inside and outside as at 31. The bottom of the corner posts which are adapted to be riveted to the side sills 3, are welded directly to the outer end of the end sill 9 as at 38. This connection is further reinforced by means of gusset plates 39, brace plates ill and diagonal braces 41.

The end sill 9 comprises two members formed of pressed plate metal, each extending from one of the corner posts and side sills to the striking casting 2 and center sill l, and riveted or bolted thereto as at 42 and 43. Each end sill member has a channel shaped face portion having a vertically disposed web M and inwardly extending top and bottom flanges 45 and 46. The web 44 has its inner portion tapered While the upper flange is tapered toward the outer end. The threshold 41 for the doors is of inverted trough section and is formed integral with the top flange 45, said threshold having an inwardly extending flange 48 at its lower inner edge for supporting the car floor 49 at. this point. The end sill is also provided with the usual locking bolt sockets 5E! and push hole pockets 5i which are welded thereto as indicated.

Referring now to Figs. 13 to 16 the numerals 52 and 53 indicate the swinging car doors having a plurality of spaced strap hinge members 54 attached to their vertical outer edges adapted to be pivotally attached to the knuckles 35 of the hinge butts 34 which are secured to the corner posts 8. As shown the doors are of that type which have sheet metal panel members 55 on the outer sides which are corrugated transversely at the intermediate portion to reinforce the door structure and have plain fiat edge portions 56 adapted to engage the front surface of the end frame structure as shown. The frame work of each door comprises an angle member 5'! which extends along the outer edges and over the top of each door having the end poltion of its inwardly extending leg swedged outwardly as at 58 to resiliently engage the grooved portion SI of the corner posts 8 and the inner leg l2 of the end plate I, when the doors are in closed position. The bottom frame member 59 for each door is formed of an angle similar to the angle 57 but disposed with the swedged end portion of their legs extending inwardly. The frame members for the meeting edges of the doors are adapted to interlock when the doors are in closed position. The inner frame member for the door 53 which is adapted to close first is formed of an angle 60 which projects a short distance beyond the edge of the metal panel member and is adapted to engage and overlap the edge of the adjacent door. The inwardly extending leg of the angle is reinforced by means of a small angle BI and is formed with a hook 62 adapted to interlock with the end of the leg of a channel shape 63 forming the inner frame member for the adjacent door.

The doors are each provided with an inner wooden lining 64 which may be secured to the door frame and the sheet metal panel members in any suitable manner.

A swinging locking bar 65 which is limited in its movement by means of stop clips 66 is pivoted centrally as at Bl to the door 52 and is adapted to be held in its locked position by means of the lever 68. The ends of the locking bar are adapted to swing into or out of engagement with the keeper 25 on the end plate 1 and a similar shaped keeper 69 extending from the top of the striking casting 2.

The doors are also provided with additional locking means comprising locking bolts 19 supported in housings H on the doors adapted to engage the sockets 50 formed on the end sill 9.

When the doors .are closed and held in position by means of the locking bar 65, the "swedged leg portions 58 of the angles El resiliently engage the inclined surfaces of the grooves 3! and are adapted to hold the flat edges 56 of the door panels tightly against the face of the end frame structure and the meeting edges of the doors and form the necessary weathering feature around the doors for excluding the elements.

Although we have shown and described our invention in considerable detail, we do not wish to be limited to the exact and specific details shown and described, but may use such substitutions, modifications or equivalents thereof, as are embraced Within the scope of our invention, or as pointed out in the claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire ,to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressedplate metal members, comprising an end sill and an end plate, corner posts having their lower ends welded to the outer ends of the end sill and their upper ends welded to the ends of the end plate, said corner posts having a central face portion and an outer side flange with an offset extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an innerflange of shorter length than the outer flange, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

2. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members, comprising an end sill and an end plate, a corner post connecting each end of the end sill and end plate and welded thereto, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical face portion and an outer side flange with an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having inclined and grooved portions, a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate porticn of the outer flange, and a plurality of hinge butts welded to each corner post.

3. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members, comprising an end sill and an end plate, a corner post of the box type connecting each end of the end sill and end plate and welded thereto, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical face portion and an outer side flange with an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having inclined and grooved portions, a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange, spaced openings formed in the corner posts, a hinge butt placed inside the posts having knuckles extending through each opening, extended portions on the hinge butts adapted to prevent said hinge butts from passing through the openings, and a welded connection for the hinge butts on the inside and outside of the corner posts.

4. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for attachment to the main structure of the car, including flanges attachable to the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end sill, corner posts and an end plate, a plurality of spaced openings formed in each corner post, a hinge butt placed inside the posts adjacent each opening having knuckles extending through each opening, extended portions on the hinge butts inside the corner posts adapted to prevent said hinge butts from passing through the openings, and a welded connection between the corner posts and the hinge butts on the inside and outside of the 'corner posts.

5. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end plate, a corner post of the box type welded to each end of the end plate each having a central flat face portion and outer side flange with an extending portion attached to the side sheet of the car, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined portion and a grooved end portion, a flat plate welded to the inner edge of the short flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange, and an end sill member having its outer end welded to one of the corner posts and the inner end secured to the center sill and striking casting.

6. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members, comprising an end sill and end plate, a corner post of box type connecting each end of the end sill and end plate and welded thereto, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical face portion and an outer side flange with an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having inclined and grooved portions, a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the inter-,

mediate portion of the outer flange, spaced openings formed in the corner posts, a hinge butt placed inside the posts having knuckles extending through each opening, extending portions on the hinge butts adapted to prevent said hinge butts from passing through the openings, a welded connection for the hinge butts on the inside and outside of the corner posts, a door hinged to the knuckles of the hinge butts of each corner post having flat edge portions, said door having an angular side frame member adjacent to the side corner post each having an inclined leg portion adapted to resiliently engage the groove of the corner posts and hold the flat edge portions of the doors in contact with the face of the end frame when the doors are in closed position.

7. A car end construction comprising an end plate and end sill, corner posts of pressed metal of box type connecting the end plate and end sill,

spaced openings formed in thecor'ner posts, hinge butts disposed inside the corner posts having knuckles extending through each opening, and a welded connection between the hinge butts and the corner posts.

8. A car end construction comprising an' end plate and end sill, corner posts of box type connecting the end plate and end sill, said corner posts each having a flat central outer face portion adapted to form a door jamb and inwardly extending leg portions, a plate connecting the leg portions, spaced openings formed in the corner posts, hinge butts disposed inside the corner posts having knuckles extending through each opening, extended portions on the hinge butts adapted to prevent said hinge butts from passing through the openings, and a welded connection between the hinge butts and the corner posts.

9. A car end construction comprising an end plate and end sill, corner posts formed of pressed metal connecting the end plate and end sill, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical outer face portion adapted to form a door jamb, an outer side flange having an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined and grooved portion, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

10. A car end construction comprising an end plate and end sill, corner posts formed of pressed metal connecting the end plate and end sill, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical outer face portion adapted to form a door jamb, an outer side flange with an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined and grooved portion, a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange, spaced openings formed in the corner posts, a hinge butt disposed inside the posts having knuckles extending through each opening, extending portions on the hinge butts inside the corner posts adapted to prevent said hinge butts from passing through the openings and a welded connection between the corner posts and the hinge butts on the inside and outside of the corner posts.

11. A car end construction formed of pressed plate metal, comprising a pair of pressed metal plate members adapted to form an end sill, an end plate of channel section, corner posts connecting the end sill with the end plate, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical outer face portion adapted to form a door jamb, an outer side flange having an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined and grooved portion, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

12. A car end construction comprising an end plate and end sill, corner posts formed of pressed metal connecting the end plate and end sill, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical outer face portion adapted to form a door jamb, an outer side flange having an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined and grooved portion, a fiat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange, hinge butts welded to each corner post, knuckles extending from the hinge butts, a door hinged to the knuckles of the hinge butts of each corner post having flat edge portions, said doors each having an angular side frame member adjacent to the side corner post having an inclined leg portion adapted to resiliently engage the groove of the corner post and hold the flat edge portion of the door in contact with the flat face of the corner post when the door is closed.

13. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members comprising a pair of pressed metal plate members adapted to form an end sill each having an inverted trough shaped portion forming a threshold, a striking casting secured to the inner ends of the pair of pressed metal plate members forming the end sill, said striking casting having an upwardly extending inverted trough shaped threshold portion in alignment with the inverted threshold portions of the end sill members, an end plate of channel section of varying depth having curved corners, inwardly extending legs and downwardly extending end portions, corner posts each having flanged edges and a central flat outer face in the same plane as the front faces of the threshold portion of the end sills and the end plate adapted to form a door jamb.

14. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members, comprising an end sill and an end plate, corner posts having their lower ends welded to the outer ends of the end sill and their upper ends welded to the ends of the end plate, said corner posts each having a central flat face portion and an outer side flange with an offset extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having inclined and grooved portions, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

15. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for attachment to the main structure of the car, comprising an end plate, a pair of corner posts each having its upper end spliced and welded to one outer end of the end plate, a pair of end sill members of channel section each having its outer end Welded to the bottom of one of the corner posts and the lower surface inclined upwardly therefrom and the inner end secured to the center sill and striking casting, said corner posts each having a central flat vertical face portion, an outer side flange having an extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange having an inclined and grooved portion, hinge butts inserted in the corner posts and welded thereto, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

16. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members, comprising an end sill and end plate, corner posts having their lower ends welded to the outer ends of the end sill and their upper ends welded to the ends of the end plate, said corner posts having a central flat face portion adapted to form a door jamb and an outer side flange with an offset extending portion adapted to be attached to the car side, an inner flange of shorter length than the outer flange, and a flat plate welded to the edge of the inner flange and the intermediate portion of the outer flange.

17. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end plate, corner posts each having its upper end welded and spliced to the outer end of the end plate, said corner posts each having a flat central face portion forming the door jamb and an inwardly inclined and grooved leg for engaging a door frame, an end sill formed of a pair of pressed plate metal members each attached to and connected to a corner post and the center sill and striking casting, said end sill members each having a vertical web with an inwardly extending flanged upper and lower edge, a door threshold of inverted trough shape formed integral with each top flange, and reinforcing brace plates for the end sill welded thereto below the corner posts.

18. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end plate, corner posts each having its upper end welded and spliced tothe outer end of the end plate, said corner posts each having a fiat central face portion forming the door jamb and an inwardly inclined and grooved leg for engaging a door frame, an end sill formed of a pair of pressed plate metal members each having one end attached to and connecting a corner post and the opposite end attached to the center sill and striking casting, said end sill members each having a vertically disposed channel shaped portion, and an inverted trough shaped portion adapted to form a door threshold, and a floor supporting flange extending inwardly from the inverted trough shaped door threshold.

19. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end plate, a corner post having its upper end welded and spliced to each outer end of the end plate, said corner posts each having a flat central face portion forming the door jamb and an inwardly inclined and grooved leg for engaging and receiving a door frame, an end sill. formed of a pair of pressed plate metal members, each of said end sill members having its outer end connected to a corner post and the inner end secured to the center sill and striking casting, said end sill members each having a vertically disposed channel shaped portion tapered inwardly transversely of the car, and an inverted trough shaped portion adapted to form a door threshold, and a floor supporting flange extending inwardly from the lower inner edge of the inverted trough shaped door threshold.

20. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the ear including the center sill and a striking casting, comprising an end plate of substantially channel shape in cross-section throughout its length having downwardly extending ends with curved corners, the channel shaped portion of the end plate having a greater depth at the central and curved corner portions, said end plate having a vertically disposed Web and inner and outer inwardly extending legs, a vertically extending offset portion formed at an intermediate point in the outer inwardly extending leg of the end plate having a greater depth at the narrow portions of the channel, corner posts of the box type each having its upper end spliced and welded to a downwardly extending'end of the end plate, said corner posts each having a flat central face portion forming the door jamb and an inwardly inclined and grooved leg for engaging and receiving a door frame, and an end sill member having its outer end welded to the lower end of each of the corner posts and its inner end secured to the center sill and striking casting.

21. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed metal members weldedtogether having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end sill, corner posts and an end plate welded together to form an integral frame, an inverted U-shaped threshold formed integral with the end sill, a door jamb adjacent to the door opening formed by the outer surfaces of inverted U-shaped threshold, corner posts and end plate, spacedopenings formed in the corner posts, hinge butts disposed inside the corner posts having knuckles extending through each opening, and a welded connection between the hinge butts and the corner posts.

22. A car end construction formed of a plurality of pressed plate metal members welded together having a marginal portion defining a door opening and attaching flanges for securement to the main structure of the car including the center sill and striking casting, comprising an end plate, corner posts and an end sill formed of two pressed plate metal members each secured to and extending from a corner post to the striking casting, said end sill members each having a channel shaped face portion tapered inwardly transversely of the car with its upper flange tapered toward its outer end, a threshold of inverted trough section formed integral with the upper flange having an inwardly extending floor supporting flange, hinge butts welded to the corner posts having extending knuckles, and a door hinged to the knuckles of the hinge butts of each corner post having flat edge portions adapted to close against the outer surfaces of the threshold corner posts and end sill.

JOHN E. TESSEYMAN. LOUIS G. MILLER. 

